A fire broke out in the popular tourist destination of Gili Trawangan, North Lombok, on Thursday morning, 12 March 2026, destroying several well-known bars, restaurants, and local businesses in the area. The incident occurred in Gili Indah Village, shocking residents and tourism workers in one of Indonesia’s most visited island destinations.
Authorities suspect the fire was triggered by an electrical short circuit, which quickly spread through nearby buildings constructed largely from flammable materials such as wood and thatched grass roofing.
Fire Breaks Out Early Morning
According to officials from the North Lombok Fire and Rescue Department (Damkar KLU), the first reports of the fire emerged at approximately 06:30 WITA after an announcement was made through a mosque loudspeaker on the island.
Firefighters stationed at the Gili Trawangan fire post immediately responded and arrived at the scene about 15 minutes later, but by that time the fire had already spread across two main locations—Sama Sama Bar & Restaurant and Ocean 2 Bar & Restaurant.
Erwin Rahardi, Secretary of the North Lombok Fire Department, said the nature of the building materials significantly contributed to the rapid spread of the flames.
“The initial cause is strongly suspected to be an electrical short circuit. Because many of the structures are built with wood and alang-alang (thatch) roofing, the fire spread very quickly to nearby buildings,” Erwin said on Thursday.
Six Businesses Affected
Based on official reports from the Gili Trawangan Fire Post, a total of six businesses were affected by the blaze.
Four buildings were completely destroyed, including:
- Sama Sama Bar & Restaurant (8 are)
- Ocean 2 Bar & Restaurant (5 are)
- Gili Mart convenience store (1 are)
- Hello Capitano restaurant (1 are)
- Two additional establishments sustained partial damage, including:
- Manta Dive Bar, where the thatched roof and part of a bungalow were burned
- Diversia Restaurant, which suffered damage to its roof structure
Limited Equipment Slows Response
Firefighters faced additional challenges due to the limited firefighting infrastructure on the small island. The team deployed a three-wheeled fire response vehicle and relied heavily on assistance from local residents to contain the flames.
Five firefighters battled the blaze alongside members of the community for approximately three hours before successfully bringing the fire under control.
“Facilities and equipment on the island are still limited. Our team fought the fire directly for about three hours until it was finally contained,” Erwin explained.
Final Mitigation: Fire Fully Contained by Afternoon
After extinguishing the main flames, firefighters conducted a cooling-down operation until around 12:30 WITA to prevent any hidden embers from reigniting.
Teams then carried out a final sweep of the affected area.
The emergency operation officially concluded at 13:10 WITA, with the situation declared safe.
While no fatalities were reported, one staff member from Sama Sama Bar sustained an arm injury after falling from a ladder while attempting to escape and help control the fire.
